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Originally and chiefly used in South-African-, Australian- and New-Zealand-English, the humorous, colloquial expression Chateau Cardboard designates bag-in-box wine—i.e., inexpensive wine that is sold in a plastic or foil pouch, with a spigot through which the contents can be poured, packaged in a sturdy cardboard box.
The expression Chateau Cardboard has been borrowed into British English. The following, for example, is from Bottoms up: UK’s drinking habits, by Sam Wylie-Harris, published in the Worcester News (Worcester, Worcestershire, England) of Saturday 4th November 2017 [page 22, column 3]:
SOUTHERNERS LIKE A BAG-IN-BOX
Believe it or not, this throwback to the 1970s is enjoying a renaissance, and what was once referred to as a glass of ‘Chateau Cardboard’ is now a trendy choice—especially among southerners—thanks to its lower carbon footprint, fashionable styles and premium quality on tap.
The expression Chateau Carboard is based on the contrast in signification between the two nouns that compose it: the noun cardboard refers to inexpensive bag-in-box wines, while the noun château refers to expensive wines of superior quality made at vineyard estates, especially in the Bordeaux region of France—as in Château Margaux, Château d’Yquem, Château Lafitte and Château Latour.
—Cf. also:
– the humorous, colloquial expression Château Plonk, which is used of wine, especially of cheap wine of inferior quality;
– the humorous, colloquial expressions chateau tap-water|Château-la-Pompe, which liken tap-water to a grand cru.
These are, in chronological order, the earliest occurrences of the expression Chateau Cardboard that I have found:
1-: From South African wines: A secret now worth sharing, by Kristine N. Curry, published in the Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois, USA) of Thursday 25th August 1983 [Section 6: Food Guide, page 12, column 2]—the author quoted a “Dr. Dave Hughes”, but gave no explanation as to his role in the wine industry:
The giant of the industry is Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery [SFW], producing over 60 percent of the South African wines. […]
[…]
Stellenbosch is gaining a reputation as one of the finest producers of good everyday wine. Much of Stellenbosch’s bulk wines for South African consumption go to bag-in-the-box packages, or “Chateau Cardboard” as Hughes gleefully calls them.
2-: From an article by Mr W. R. Jackson, managing director of Thomas Hardy and Sons, Australia’s seventh biggest wine company, published in The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) of Tuesday 23rd October 1984 [South Australian Wine Feature, page 16, column 1]:
For the 12 months ending June 30 1984, figures show that 57 per cent of all wine sold in Australia, in litres, was white table wine. And of this 57 per cent, almost two thirds (63 per cent) was sold in soft packs, with the share still increasing relative to previous years.
Thirty-six per cent of all wine sold in Australia is therefore white wine in wine casks—the bag in the box—Chateau Cardboard!
3-: From Breaking out of an old year’s pledge, by Sharon Gray, published in The Age (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) of Tuesday 8th January 1985 [page 11, column 1]:
Over the past 20 years I’ve guzzled the finest French and local wines from crystal and jam-jars. A sworn connoisseur, I forsook a chateau cardboard years ago.
4-: From TV Review, by Barbara Hooks, published in The Age (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) of Wednesday 13th March 1985 [page 2, column 2]:
When one is burdened by change-of-season chills […], nothing quite cheers like dear old Rumpole, the Bailey’s craftiest hack and his august chamber’s most indomitable champion of justice.
[…] He simply improves with age, like a bottle of Chateau Fleet Street would […].
Fortified with the next best thing, a glass of Chateau Cardboard, and ridiculously swaddled in this heat, I settled down to watch ‘Rumpole and the Case of Identity’ (Channel 2, 7.30 pm).
5-: From In the land of tumbling prices, by Mark Shield, published in The Age (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) of Tuesday 27th May 1986 [page 36, column 3]:
Could we be witnessing the rebirth of the cafe society […]?
[…]
It will be the era of the house wine, and establishments will become renowned for the quality of the wine they serve by the glass. Good house wine will not come out of a many-ringed, mouldy flagon. Nor will it reside in chateau cardboard. It will be bottled wine.
6-: From a recipe for tarragon sauce, by David Burton, published in The Press (Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand) of Tuesday 10th June 1986 [page 16, column 5]:
Add 6 tablespoons tarragon (preferably fresh, and cut finely with scissors. Use more if dried). Add also 100 ml dry white wine (Chateau Cardboard is fine).
7-: From The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) of Tuesday 5th August 1986 [Good Living, page 2, column 2]:
Wine by the carton
The nation that gave the world chateau cardboard, the wine in the box, has been upstaged by the greatest wine nation. France, having reluctantly adopted the Aussie cask for its own vin ordinaire, is now also marketing the stuff in similar gable-top cartons to those which contain our milk.
Litre cartons of red and white wines under the BonLouis label have just landed in that Pacific piece of France, New Caledonia […]
The wine reportedly keeps perfectly in the sealed, foil-lined cartons.
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